Proposals have already been made in U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,256 of Lucien GUAZZO for a junction between the ends of two underwater optical fiber cables, each cable having an optical core, an arch of steel wire, a copper tube swaged down on the arch, an insulating sheath, a return conductor, and a protective sheath.
The junction comprises two cable-receiving end portions, a wedge member for splaying out the steel wire, and a filling of hardenable resin in which the ends of the steel wires are glued, where they are jammed between the cable-receiving end portions and the conical wedge members.
However, such a junction is relatively complex and is not well suited for connecting cable having a non-metallic axial strength member, and in particular for guard cables of tubular structure or having a central core fitted with optical fiber receiving grooves, and having an axial strength member made of composite material (glass fibers/epoxy resin, glass fibers/polyester resin, aromatic polyamide fibers/polyester resin) or a braid of high-strength non-metallic fibers (carbon fibers). The ends of such cables must be firmly gripped in a junction box and they must be capable of withstanding forces corresponding to an elongation of at least 0.8% without breaking or sliding.
Preferred implementations of the present invention provide a connection which provides excellent gripping between the end of a cable and a junction box, and it allows said cable end to withstand forces corresponding to an elongation of at least 0.8% without breaking or sliding, while being simple in structure and easy to implement.